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We are migrating from one data center to another, all new equipment and the latest Oracle 11gR2 database. To minimize the migration window, I was thinking about using data guard to replicate the production database to the new data center prior to migration weekend.

Has anyone used data guard to create their new production database?
Yes, works very nicely for moving things form one location to another provided the prerequisites are there.

Can data guard be used to create a standby database on a newer version of Oracle (source Oracle 10.2.0.5.0 - target Oracle 11.2.0.3.0)?
No, one of the prereq's the operating system and database version MUST be the same.

Is anyone aware of the ports used by data guard so I can make sure the firewall is open between data centers?
Up to you as it's all just SQL*Net
Thanks in advance,
Bill